Month: May 2017

“But perhaps the most important lesson I learned is that there are no walls between humans and the elephants except those that we put up ourselves, and that until we allow not only elephants, but all living creatures their place in the sun, we can never be whole ourselves.”Lawrence Anthony

Please consider the following when you vote June 8th:

While the conservatives have not included the total ban on the trade in Ivory in their manifesto Labour has made a commitment to do so along with other plans to protect animals from abuse:“We will prohibit the third-party sale of puppies, introduce and enforce a total ban on ivory trading, and support the ban on wild animals in circuses.”

“If I were a minister, I would ban the lot and stop any trade in or movement of ivory. The survival of the elephant is far more important than a museum, however great it and the curators of the modern age may be, however wise, experienced and brilliant they may be and however great their genius.”John Mann MP

Indeed elephants are more important than the preservation of antique ivory. Ivory is the leading factor in their threatened extinction, stopping the demand for ivory in any form, any age is fundamental to the survival of elephants.

“Elephants have roamed the wild for 15 million years, but today this iconic species face the biggest threat to survival due to continued ivory poaching. As long as there is a demand for ivory, elephants continue to be killed for their tusks. Today it is estimated up to 25,000 elephants are killed annually.”

REASONS TO SAVE THE ELEPHANT:

If we don’t act now elephants could face localized extinctions.

In some countries of Africa including Senegal, Somalia and Sudan, elephants have already been driven to extinction.

Communities across Africa are dependent on elephants for an income through tourism. Saving the elephants also means preventing poverty, sustaining livelihoods and promoting sustainable tourism.

Elephants are a keystone species. Other animals, plants and entire ecosystems rely on them for survival.

‘As go the elephants, so do the trees.’ Elephants are known as ‘nature’s gardeners’, plants and trees rely on elephants to disperse their seeds far and wide through their dung.

Elephant’s large footprints act as water collectors for smaller animals.

By uprooting trees to feed, they control the tree population leaving grasses to thrive and sustain animals such as wildebeests and zebras.

Elephants share the same emotions and cognitive behavior as humans. They grieve for their lost loved ones, they feel fear, joy and empathy and are highly praised for their intelligence.

One action you can take on June 8th is to vote Labour, a total ban on the trade in ivory by the UK will help to protect elephants from poaching.

Elephants are on the brink of extinction and could well be gone from the wild in twelve years time.

China has put in place a ban on ivory however the “Chinese ban on trade specifically excludes items described as “genuine antiques”. This exemption raises concerns that elephants will continue to be poached to supply an increased trade in “ghost ivory” (illegal ivory sold as antique legal ivory) as the legitimate market closes.”

And this is the reason why we need a total ban on ivory, be it new or antique, existing ivory carvings perpetuates the demand in ivory. Furthermore it is not an easy matter to differentiate which is old ivory and which is new. In my opinion with the exception of antique ivory presently existing in museums, all existing ivory should be destroyed.

The UK needs a total ban which means also the ban on trade in antique ivory.

This will not happen under a conservative government. If you care about elephants vote Labour in the general election. Labour will put elephants before profits.

Related Links

Why would Theresa May ditch a pledge to ban ivory trading?

“The Tories’ manifesto has dropped a promise to outlaw the trade. Protecting wildlife should be a priority, not an option”

“Strange news: Theresa May has decided to drop a Tory pledge to push for a total ban on ivory trading (only the sale of ivory items produced after 1947 is prohibited). Why would she do that? Doesn’t she need votes? I thought nearly everyone loved elephants – who votes for helping to wipe them out? Apparently, wealthy antiques dealers. Lady (Victoria) Borwick, the Tory candidate for Kensington and the president of the British Antique Dealers’ Association, is an acquaintance of the PM; perhaps she was whom May had in mind.”

“Under David Cameron the Conservatives had pledged – along with other UK political parties – to put into place a ban on ivory trading. This follows bans by China, the US and other important ivory trading countries to end domestic trades in ivory by the end of 2017.

But there is no mention of the ban in Theresa May’s Tory 2017 manifesto.”

“When Labour wins, the British people win. The nurse, the teacher, the small trader, the carer, the builder, the office worker win.” “take our wealth back”
Jeremy Corbyn

If the Tories win , the rich and powerful win and the average person loses. Not only people of course but wildlife and the environment will lose as the fox hunting ban is repealed and the badger cull/massacre continues as does fracking which is now taking place in Yorkshire, Lancashire, the midlands and elsewhere in some of our most scenic places, including our national parks.

Reasons to vote Labour

Firstly this election is about more than Brexit, at least it should be.

“This election isn’t about Brexit itself. That issue has been settled. The question now is what sort of Brexit do we want – and what sort of country do we want Britain to be after Brexit?Jeremy Corbyn

For anyone who is in any doubt concerning Labour’ position on Brexit please read the following:

Labour “accepts the referendum result” and intends to build a close new relationship with Europe “not as members but as partners”.

“Labour will always put jobs and the economy first”

“We will prioritise jobs and living standards, build a close new relationship with the EU, protect workers’ rights and environmental standards, provide certainty to EU nationals and give a meaningful role to Parliament throughout negotiations.

We will build a close co-operative future relationship with the EU, not as members but as partners.”

It is likely that a Tory Brexit will be of benefit for only the few. Any money saved will be handed to corporations as tax cuts.

New trade deals sought with the USA and others will drive down working conditions, food and environmental standards and I suspect animal welfare will suffer.

A Tory Brexit will erode workers rights, cut taxes to corporations and isolate the UK from our closest allies and trading partners.

Consider the following:

…Brexit will impact more than just the 70 millions human animals living in the United Kingdom. It is also a devastating blow for the approximately 1 billion non-human animals per year who are killed in the UK for food, trade, and experimentation.

Approximately 80 per cent of UK animal protection laws originate from the EU, and these laws have prohibited some of the worst aspects of industrial livestock production. Veal crates have been banned from 2007, barren battery cages for egg-laying hens from 2012, and sow stalls from 2013. The EU ‘constitution’ also contains a declaration that animals are sentient beings and that all EU and member state legislation must take into account the effect on animal welfare.

Brexit has put all of these advances at risk. The UK will no longer need to comply with these rules, and it appears unlikely that they will do so voluntarily.

Labour include a number of positive animal welfare pledges in their manifesto – more about this further down.

Labour commits to the following:

NHS

Labour pledges to increase NHS funding by 6 billion annually. The party will ‘commit to over £6 billion extra in annual funding through increasing income tax for the highest 5% of earners’

Here are just a few highlights of Labours proposals for our NHS

“We will invest in our NHS for world-class care”

Labour guarantee “access to treatment within 18 weeks, we will take one million people off NHS waiting lists by the end of the next Parliament.”

“We will ensure all NHS patients get fast access to the most effective new drugs and treatments”,

“We will guarantee that patients can be seen in A&E within four hours.”

“We will increase funding to GP services to ensure patients can access the care they need.”

“We will ensure all NHS patients get fast access to the most effective new drugs and treatments,”

“Labour will focus resources on services to provide care closer to home and deliver a truly 21st century health system.”

“Labour will set the ambition to make our country autism-friendly.”

The party also plans to scrap NHS pay cap and ‘give our NHS workers the pay they deserve’.

Labour pledge to give “mental health the same priority as physical health means not only ensuring access to services, but also making improvements, to those services.” This will include investment “in early intervention by increasing the proportion of mental health budgets spent on support for children and young people.”

Here is a shocking fact, Suicide is now the most common cause of death for boys aged between 5 and 19.

As soon as possible Labour plan to reverse the privatisation of Royal Mail. Since privatisation of this national asset, which was sold off cheaply, there has been a significant increase in postal charges and a poorer service – do you remember when you got your post before going to work and a second delivery late morning. Now you ‘re lucky if you get your first and only delivery before mid day!

Energy

Since privatisation the cost of energy has increased at an alarming rate leaving many people unable to afford the cost of heating their homes while energy providers rake in massive profits. During 2015 private energy providers overcharged customers by £2 billion

Labour says it will bring energy into partial public ownership – this will begin with an immediate “emergency price cap” on energy bills to ensure that the average duel fuel household energy bill remains below £1,000 a year.

Water

“The Tories have rigged our economy so that bill payers fund wealthy shareholders of companies which in turn pay little in tax. It doesn’t have to be this way,”

Labour plan to re-nationalise the water industry introducing a network of regional publicly-owned water companies.

Water companies make huge profits from a resource which is vital for survival, good health and quality of life. As a result of privatisation water bills have risen by 40 per cent. Profits go to share holders which could benefit all rather than the privileged few. The privatisation of water has to be among the most appalling of all the mass privatisations.

“Labour will rebalance our economy so that the many are no longer ripped off by the wealthy and powerful few. Labour will transform our energy, water and mail markets so that they work for consumers. Our plans for public ownership and greater transparency will slash bills and drive investment in efficiency and renewables.”

A huge raft of environmental reforms is promised in the Labour Party’s draft manifesto, writes Oliver Tickell. Among the highlights: a ban on fracking; a clean energy policy based on renewables and efficiency; no commitment to new nuclear power; to meet our Paris Agreement obligations on climate; to give companies a legal obligation to protect the environment; to retain all EU environment laws post-Brexit; and multilateral nuclear disarmament.

Also included in the manifesto are plans to ” introduce a new Clean Air Act to deal with the Conservative legacy of illegal air quality,“plant a million trees of native species to promote biodiversity and better flood management. Unlike the Conservatives who attempted to privatise our forests, Labour will keep them in public hands.”

Labour intends to abolish tuition fees and reintroduce maintenance grants.This goes without saying is a more fair system and opens opportunities for everyone with the necessary ability to advance his or her education rather than only those who can afford it. Who really could not consider this a fair just policy.

Labour plans to give “everyone the opportunity to access education throughout their lives.”

Labour “will create a unified National Education Service (NES) for England to move towards cradle-to-grave learning that is free at the point of use. The NES will be built on the principle that ‘Every Child – and Adult Matters’ and will incorporate all forms of education, from early years through to adult education.”

During their time in government the conservatives have slashed social security plunging millions into poverty and increased the need for food banks. In the UK today one of the richest countries in the world 4 million children live in poverty.

Among the many plans Labour has to undo the misery of rising poverty as a result of the conservatives failed attempts on the backs of the poor to reduce the deficit is to scrap the bedroom tax , reinstate housing benefits for the under twenty-ones, scrap the cruel and unfair sanctions regime .

Increase Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) by £30 per week for those in the work-related activity group, and repeal cuts in the UC limited capacity for work element.

Increase Carer’s Allowance by £11 to the level of Jobseekers’ Allowance.

Implement the court decision on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) so that there is real parity of esteem between those with physical and mental-health conditions.

Scrap the Work Capability and Personal Independence Payment assessments and replace them with a personalised, holistic assessment process that provides each individual with a tailored plan, building on their strengths and addressing barriers. Labour will end the privatisation of assessments.

End the pointless stress of reassessments for people with severe long-term conditions.

Commission a report into expanding the Access to Work programme.

“We will change the culture of the social security system, from one that demonises people not in work to one that is supportive and enabling.”

Please vote wisely at this most crucial election. It is easy to be led astray by empty Tory promises but check closely the last seven years under the Tories with the rise in poverty, food banks, poor services, austerity for the few while the wealth of the rich increases. Ask yourself do you really want to see more children in poverty, longer queues at food banks, more cuts to benefits for our most vulnerable citizens, fracking in our countryside, the return of fox hunting, the continuation of the killing of badgers and the Tories lack of support for a total ban on the trade in ivory.

A final comment about Brexit

How many of us can really say we understand what the hell is going on with Brexit, yet when asked people cite concerns about Brixt like some well-worn mantra the essence of which I fear few understand. Brexit in my opinion is in any case one of the biggest disasters in recent times brought about largely as a result of ill-informed people voting either under the misconception that the money saved would go to the NHS or for racist zenophobic reasons and anti-immigration bigotry – I wonder how people will react when stricter immigration rules hit services. Yes NHS needs EU employees to avoid collapse However the rights and wrongs of Brexit are not the point of this blog. Article 50 has been triggered Brexit will go ahead, yes the form it will take will depend on who is running the country, the Tories who support the rich and powerful or Labour who support a fair society for all. However Brixit is not the only issue and in my opinion not the most important by a long shot.

‘The next Labour government will reverse privatisation of our NHS and return our health service into expert public control. Labour will repeal the Health and Social Care Act that puts profits before patients.

The plight of elephants and indeed other wild animals confined and exploited in zoos is so sad and unnecessary. Worldwide there are approximately 15,000 to 20,000 elephants held captive, mostly for entertainment in zoos and circuses. These animals live miserable lives, often alone like Mali the elephant who holds her tail for comfort, like Mali many are abused and neglected without proper medical care and attention. Without exception all wish to be free as nature intended.

Below there are a number of actions you can take to help captive elephants, please take as many of these actions as you can.

Firstly please sign and share the following petitions to help at least two elephants confined in zoos who lead lonely miserable lives:

SHE IS SO LONELY, SHE HOLDS HER TAIL FOR COMFORT. PLEASE HELP MALI THE LONELIEST ELEPHANT IN THE WORLD.

Lonely Mali was stolen from her close-knit loving family in Sri Lanka while she was still nursing. For almost 40 YEARS Mali has been confined to a barren concrete enclosure and denied the company of other elephants, which is essential to her emotional and mental well being.

The Melha Shrine Circus made a very smart, progressive, and humane decision in 2016 to remove animals from their circus, but unfortunately they have decided to bring elephants and tigers back this year.

Elephants have been held in captivity for more than 4,000 years beginning in the Indus Valley. Since that time elephants have been take from their natural environment and trained, used as labour and exploited as entertainment in zoos and circuses.

“Around the world there exist between 15,000-20,000 captive elephants and the circumstances for most of them are abysmal.”

You can read more about the history of their captivity and their use and abuse by clicking the link below:

You might also like to sign the elephant charter, open to signatures of Friends of Elephants, which is members of the public who care about elephants, Elephant biologists who are scientists whose profession involves or has involved the study of elephants and “Elephant Professionals who are individuals whose profession involves or has involved the care, medical treatment, protection, conservation, legal defense of elephants, advocacy for elephants or education about elephants.”

When you list all the reasons why you should not vote Tory it seems inconceivable to me that many people are about to grant them five more years of power to destroy our lives!!!!!

All potential Tory Voters: If you don’t care about losing the NHS to privatisation, or are not concerned about the shocking treatment of disabled people such as denying disability benefit to 165,000 of our sick and disbaled and a £30 cut each week in benefits , the rise in food banks, the bedroom tax, low pay, zero hours, homelessness, cuts to education, increases in tuition fees and limitless austerity please at least think about what the Tories will do concerning our wildlife.

Please consider the following:

If the Tories gain power in addition to all the above, they will eventually try to repeal the fox-hunting ban and will most certainly continue their massacre of helpless badgers referred to as culling.

The Badger Cull (massacre)

Watch this lovely video of these amazing creatures as a mother her keeps an eye on her cub as they walk through a Bluebell carpeted wood.

See also https://twitter.com/ally_wsm?lang=en for regular tweets concerning badgers, also graphics to use in our fight to keep the Tories from murdering these innocent defenceless animals who are a part of the countryside, living feeling sentient beings who enjoy life as much as any other animal including you or your cat or dog. Badgers have a right to life and should not be killed by the Tories or any other person simply because they are perceived as an inconvenience in the exploitation of another species, namely cattle, to satisfy the insatiable greed to acquire wealth and to consume a food – meat and milk – that is not natural.

Fox hunting – hunting with dogs

Along with the continuation of the badger massacre (cull) a Tory government will make another attempt to repeal the fox hunting ban

From the League Against Cruel Sports

THE HUNTING ACT IS UNDER THREAT

“There is a very real danger this election could deliver a pro-hunt majority in the House of Commons. This would be the very first time there has been a clear majority of pro-hunt MPs in Parliament since the Hunting Act was passed in 2004 – if we don’t stop it.

We have a matter of weeks to fight this.

Make no mistake – the hunt lobby will be doing everything they can to get pro-hunt MPs into power and destroy the landmark law protecting UK wildlife. They will stop at nothing to legalise the abhorrent cruelty of chasing terrified animals with packs of dogs and tearing them limb from limb.”

At present Tory politicians and Teresa May are focused on winning the election. There is not much going on to campaign against this barbarity. However right now you can take the most important and most decisive action to stop the repeal of the fox hunting ban and the continued culling of badgers and that is not to vote Tory in the coming election.

June 8th. VOTE LABOUR! Our wildlife depends on it!

With the Tories gone the badger cull would be over and the ban on fox hunting would remain in place.

Save badgers, foxes, and other wild life Vote Labour June 8th

Vote Labour for a more compassionate fair society for us all, both human and non human animals.

The Trussell Trust runs a network of over 400 food banks, giving emergency food and support to people in crisis across the country. During the last year they gave 1,109,309 three day emergency food supplies to hungry people in the UK. Of this number, 436,938went to children.

Also the Salvation Army and the Red Cross provide food and other essentials.

It is important to note that the Trussell Trust food banks supply only three days of emergency food, what happens to people who suffer chronic food shortage I have yet to find out though some of the other food banks may well supply food for a longer period.

Here are the real people, people who go without food when the supermarkets are stocked to access and food is thrown away.

Hunger is back in the UK , for the first time since the establishment of the welfare state larger numbers of ordinary people are turning to charity to provide food for themselves and their families. The next video was published in 2012, since than nothing has changed for the better, the situation is increasing worse with a continuing rise in poverty and hunger here in the UK and consequently the necessity of food banks.

Three and a half million parents go hungry so they can feed their children. One million people in our country are living is destitution. A mixture of welfare reform, high rents and poverty pay are forcing people to use food banks. Also according to the video below 2.2 million people were sanctioned back in 2015. Sanctions in some cases may be for long periods of times, as long as six months to three years!

The truth of the matter is Tory polices have driven people into dire poverty , if they are elected again for a further five years more and more people will suffer. If you vote conservative on June the 8th you will be condoning one of the greatest of social injustices, and that is taking from vulnerable people including children the right to have adequate food which is a basic human right. For people to go hungry, even starve in a rich country such as the UK were the shelves of thousands of supermarkets are crammed with food, a lot of which if not sold is thrown away, is a moral outrage.

“The NHS will last as long as there are folk left with faith to fight for it”
Aneurin Bevan

I am still reeling over a shock announcement that a snap general election has been called. My greatest concern is for the NHS, anyone thinking of voting Tory will in effect be sanctioning the dismantling of the finest institution that Britain has.

At a recent demonstrationover cuts to the NHS Jeremy Corbyn urged tens of thousands of demonstrators to “defend the NHS with all of your might”. “Defending the NHS is defending a basic human value and a basic human right. “You don’t walk by on the other side when somebody is in difficulties or needing help.”

“The NHS is in crisis, in crisis because of the underfunding in social care and the people not getting the care and support they need.

“There are those waiting on trolleys and those who are desperate to get into an A&E department waiting hours for treatment.

“It is not the fault of the staff. It is the fault of a Government who have made a political choice.”

Len McCluskey, general secretary of the Unite union, tweeted: “I’m marching because I am furious. Tories destroying the greatest gift the people of this country have created”

In this coming election in just five weeks vote as though your life depends on it, because without the NHS your very life and the lives of all those you love may well depend on the action you take on election day.

Don’t be fooled by Tory lies, the Tories want to privatise our NHS. The Tories are not a party for working people, they never have been and never will be and will put the interests of business over those of the vast majority. There is huge profit to be made from private health care but always at the expense of the average person. Keep in mind that the Tories voted against the formation of the NHS. The Tories are now chipping away at the NHS by increments, bit by bit, cut by cut.

There are now 6000 fewer mental health nurses than in 2010 despite Theresa May claim the Tories will improve mental health care.

“The number of mental health nurses working in the NHS has dropped by almost a sixth since the Conservatives came to power in 2010, figures show.

The revelation has sparked fresh doubt that government pledges to improve mental health services are being matched by progress at the NHS frontline.

Philip Dunne, the health minister, has admitted in a written parliamentary answer that while there were 45,384 mental health nurses working in England in 2010, there were just 38,774 in July this year.”

A nurse exposes the state of the NHS under the Tories. And it’s heartbreaking. [VIDEO]

“Vote for the NHS

Whether directly or indirectly, NHS workers are warning that a Conservative victory in the upcoming general election will be the end of our health service

… a win for the Tories would certainly embolden their privatisation agenda – which they’ve previously sought to keep under the radar. In recent years, the party has deliberately set the NHS up to crash and burn, so the private sector can swoop in and ‘save the day’. Statistics show just how much the Conservatives have defunded our health service:”

Under the Tories privatisation has risen by a staggering 76% which amounts to £48bn of our NHS handed to private health. If Elected Labour will eradicate this. Private medicine has one main goal and that is profit, profit will always come before the patient.

On June 8th vote Labour your very life may well depend on it, a vote for the Tories is a vote to end the NHS.